1. Technical Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the transportation of materials from one designated location to another designated location, and, more particularly, to a method of gathering, storing, interpreting, quantifying and reporting data pertaining to the transportation of materials from one designated location to another designated location.
2. Description of the Prior Art and Problems Solved
It is known that bulk materials, can be, and are, transported in containers over roads and highways from one designated location to another designated location, wherein such containers are ordinarily mounted on or hauled by vehicles, such as trucks. As used herein, the term “bulk materials” includes solids, liquids and mixtures of solids and liquids. It is also known that the transport of bulk materials can, and ordinarily does, require the preparation of a trip report which such report includes information which identities the container, the driver, the loading and delivery locations of the materials, locations of intermediate delays, stops or pauses, the transportation time and the nature and quantity of materials transported between the loading and delivery locations. It is still further known that the trip report is based on information contained in a record book or a trip log manually prepared by, for example, the driver of the truck, during the course of the transportation.
The accuracy of the information recorded by the driver in the trip log can be affected by the interest and/or fatigue of the driver upon preparation of the trip log and by passage of time preceding preparation of the trip report. The prepared trip report is then transmitted to some interested party, such as a governmental agency, a shipper or a carrier. The time interval between delivery of the material to an intended destination, and the transmittal of the trip report to the interested party can be unreasonably extended and, in fact, untimely.
What is required is a method of eliminating manual record keeping and manual preparation and transmittal of a trip report to an interested party.
In one specific aspect, large volumes of water are used in a variety of industrial processes. The acquisition of water, particularly in large volumes, has been a problem in terms of the geographical location of the source of the water and the geographical location of the use of the water. In this regard, the distance over which the water must be transported, the transportation route, the transportation vehicle or means and the time of transportation are directly impacted by the location of the water source and the location of the water use.
In many instances, a process requiring water cannot begin until all required water is present at the location of use. In such cases, on-site storage of transported water can be a complication in terms of storage capacity as well as the efficient performance of the process.
The quality of the water, that is, its portability and/or chemical content, required to be employed in a given process still further complicates the problem of acquisition of useful water and the mentioned associated problems of transportation distance, route, transport means and transportation time.
An additional problem which must be confronted in connection with the use of water in an industrial process is the handling of such water after completion of the process. This problem includes the recovery and potential chemical treatment of used water and the disposal and/or transportation of used water in a manner which will minimally affect ecological interests.
An example of a large volume of water employed in an industrial process is the volume of water employed in the recovery of hydrocarbons from a subsurface formation. One such process is included within a group of services broadly referred to as formation stimulation, and is more specifically referred to by those skilled in the art as hydraulic fracturing.
In the practice of hydraulic fracturing, a large volume of water is introduced into a cased borehole which intersects a subsurface formation containing fluid hydrocarbons, such as oil and gas. The pressure of the water at the intersection of the borehole and the formation is increased to a value sufficient to fracture the formation, that is, to form a crack in the formation. Thereafter, a quantity of water is forced into the formed fracture to widen and extend the crack into the formation. Fluid hydrocarbons flow out of the formation into the formed crack, then to the borehole and then to the surface of the earth where the hydrocarbons are captured for further treatment.
In more specific terms, water initially introduced into the cased borehole is actually a blend of water, sand and a thickening agent, i.e., a material which operates to increase the viscosity of the water. The blend is broadly referred to as a fracturing fluid. The fracturing fluid may also contain other materials, for example, a chemical, sometimes referred to in the art as a cross-linking agent, which reacts with the dispersed thickening agent to further increase the viscosity of the water, a chemical, sometimes referred to in the art as a breaker, which operates to reduce the viscosity of the water and a chemical, referred to in the art as a scale inhibitor, which operates to prevent the formation of scale on down hole equipment and formations.
A volume of liquid, preferably equal to the volume of liquid components initially introduced into the borehole, must be recovered from the borehole to enable the flow of fluid hydrocarbons out of the formation to the surface of the earth. This volume is commonly referred to as flow back. Flow back is a combination of water initially introduced into the bore hole, liquid reaction products of chemicals introduced into the bore hole and water naturally present in the formation (sometimes referred to as formation or connate water). Sand initially introduced into the borehole preferably enters the formed fracture and remains therein to prop the fracture open to enable flow of fluid hydrocarbons in the fracture. Sand is preferably not included in the flow back stream.
There has now developed a need to document, store and report information pertaining to gathering and transporting water employed in hydraulic fracturing and to document, store and report information pertaining to gathering, treating and disposal and/or use of flow back.